I am one of those ADI's who was fortunate or is it unfortunate to have qualified as an ADI before the Hazard Perception Test (HPT) was introduced into the UK driving license syllabus.
The downside of this being that the Driving Standards Agency in its wisdom has decided that all ADI's must take the Hazard Perception Test to remain on the ADI register, and thus continue to be able to teach, irrespective of when they qualified and how much experience they have on the job!
In my experience, 99% of pupils will not ask their instructor to teach them how to pass the Hazard Perception Test preferring to buy widely available programs on CD ROMs and practising on their own, never minding the fact that very few Instructors will be carrying a Laptop in their car to do this properly in any case. The problem with the Hazard Perception Test is that it is slightly different from what happens in real life.
During the Test which is part of the theory test itself, and is taken at the same time, you are presented with a video clip, and you are required to observe and click on a hazard immediately you spot it. The problem is there is a 'window' with in which this happen, the earlier you click with this window, the higher your score. For an experienced driver this could be a problem, as he probably will spot the hazard before the 'window' opens, clicks (which doesn't count) and not click again or click at the latter part of the 'windows' thus getting a low score! He might also click multiple times if he is not sure if the click has been registered by the computer.
In real life if you spot a hazard, the earlier you react, the better, the car also responds, so you know instantly because you get feedback.
Anyway I've been putting off taking this for a long time now, and only have till the end of this year to do it if I still want to remain a qualified ADI, so I'm putting in some practise on the CD ROMs just to make sure I can play the computer game right! I'm booking a test for sometime next week.
I wonder how many ADI's will get taken off the ADI register for not taking this driving test game?
If you are in the UK, you might be interested in Focus Media's Driving Test simulator for the PC, which has a virtual driving test simulator.
The points window does cause problems. I've passed my theory now, but in all my practice I was losing points for clicking too soon. It's all about learning to play the game.
ReplyDeleteLike all tests part of the passing is to know how to take the test. A bit like a car test.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was an ADI the Theory Test came in but I don't recall having to take it at any stage. I imagine the D o T decided that Part One of out test was enough.
Also in a recent post called "Who Drove a Car Over the Footbridge" in busdriving I made a suggestion about over seventies and driving assesments. Could you have a look and leave a comment please.
I just moved here from USA (via Tokyo for a year!)...I have been driving for 18 years...but need to take UK driving exams.
ReplyDeleteAny tips on the theory exam -- especially the hazard perception part?
Thanks!
/Rebekah
I would like to inform you that you can pass your theory test from a highly recognised uk Company. They are providing very high quality Hazard Perception Data for learner, Drivers.
ReplyDelete